Flu shots will be stockpiled for first time, CDC says

Published: April 13, 2004 8:00PM

ATLANTA (AP) For the first time, the government will stockpile flu shots and will target them toward children to avoid the vaccine shortages that caught health officials off-guard this past winter.
We really failed to foresee the influenza vaccine shortage this year. We were caught with our pants down, said Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the immunization services division for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pressure on CDC to find vaccine was enormous.
About 4 million doses will be set aside for children up to 18 years old. The government plans to spend $80 million over the next two years to pay for the stockpile, said Dr. Stephen Cochi, the CDCs acting director of the national immunization program.
Adults may be allowed to tap into the children-only supply during a crisis, if approved by Congress, Rodewald said.
In an alarmingly severe start to the recent flu season, parents rushed to doctors offices seeking the shots for their children as emergency rooms were flooded with sick kids. Influenza was blamed for dozens of child deaths by Christmas.
Most state health departments and doctors told the CDC they had run out of flu shots, or had few left. The sudden demand in late November also surprised the nations vaccine manufacturers, which already had ceased production of last seasons vaccine.
At the same time, the CDC and health officials were urging people to get their shots when there were none available. Had we known that, we would have changed our message a little bit in terms of how we promoted vaccinations, Rodewald said.
CDC officials hope the announcement of its planned vaccine stockpile will be an incentive to manufacturers to make more flu shots, Cochi said.
But there are potential problems. The flu vaccine only is good for the year that it is made and flu shot makers have to find a way to be able to provide the reserve without affecting the regular supply. About 83.1 million doses of flu shots were distributed in the United States this flu season, the CDC said.
Its going to be a challenge to use this stockpile in an optimal way, Cochi said.
Despite its severe start, this past flu season turned out to be fairly typical, the government said last week. This season 143 children died of the flu, which is about average, Cochi said.
Most of the children had no health problems before getting the flu, and most had not received a flu shot.
This past flu season started a little earlier and peaked earlier than usual between late November and December then declined rapidly through February, the CDCs preliminary review indicates.
The CDC also announced Tuesday that tens of thousands more people than previously believed are hospitalized because of influenza each year. New preliminary data suggests about 200,000 Americans are hospitalized with the flu, up from previous yearly estimates of 114,000, said Dr. Nancy Cox, chief of the CDCs influenza branch.
Last year, the CDC revised its flu death estimates about 36,000 people die from the flu each year, up from about 10,000.
On The Net:
CDC info: http://www.cdc.gov